


Broken Things

by LeoTheAvengingLioness333



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Awesome Natasha, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Hurt Steve, aou trailer 3 shot, so a while ago, wrote this after the first trailer they released
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-04-13
Packaged: 2018-03-22 19:43:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3741280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeoTheAvengingLioness333/pseuds/LeoTheAvengingLioness333
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"She reached out with a shaking hand to touch the splintered red, white, and blue disc. Steve's shield. Natasha couldn't help but think that was so much worse than finding his body."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Finding the Shield

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah, I originally wrote this after they released the first trailer for Age of Ultron back in...October? November? Well, whenever that was. And since I was still on a Romanogers shipping high from Winter Soldier (ok, let's be honest, I still am on said high, both from Steve and Nat and from the Winter Soldier movie itself), the trailer plus Steve's broken shield is what inspired this.
> 
> Enjoy!

Natasha didn’t know how long she’d been unconscious. She once again became aware of the world through a haze of smoke and fire, a ringing filling her ears. Her hands somehow managed to find purchase on the debris covered, half-destroyed road she lay on. She started to push herself up, her body nothing but dead-weight. Her muscles screamed in protest and she gasped as her wounds flared up, firing arcs of pain up and down every nerve.

            Once she was standing, her knees shaking, Natasha looked around her, hoping to see one of her teammates. It was hard to believe the sun was out when so much smoke clogged the sky, spreading a gray curtain over everything. Fires raged everywhere, a new one having been started when the building she, Steve, and Thor had been by exploded. The building had been reduced to half its original state, chunks of wall now littering the street.

She tried to recall the events leading up to the explosion, the images fuzzy in her head, like a half-developed polaroid. They had been fighting off some of Ultron’s minions when the bastard himself showed up to join the fight. She didn’t see Ultron now, and she didn’t know what had happened to him, but she doubted a little fireball got rid of him. He probably went off in search of Tony and the others once he thought they had been defeated. Dread filled her lungs, making it hard to breathe. She reached up to activate her com, only to find it gone. Most likely knocked out when the explosion hit and her body had gone flying like it was nothing more than a ragdoll.

            “Steve!” she called out, not caring who heard her. “Thor!”

            Only the distant scream of innocents met her cries. She didn’t know where Steve and Thor were, nor any of the other Avengers. She walked towards the building, her eyes scanning all around her. She hoped to catch a glimpse of Thor’s cape or Steve’s shield. She only hoped that her eyes didn’t land on their lifeless bodies instead.

            “Thor! Steve!” she hollered as she neared the building.

            A muffled groan sounded behind her and she turned. Natasha was about to step towards the noise when her leg was grabbed from behind, knocking her hard to the ground. She cried out, more in defiance and surprise than from pain. She twisted around in her attacker’s grasp as they dragged her backwards, catching a glimpse of a silver head. So one of Ultron’s puppets had survived. It was damaged, the metal of its body twisted and half-melted, but it was alive. Natasha scrambled for something to grab in the dust that covered the ground but could find nothing, nothing she could use as a weapon.

            As the robot pulled her to him, she flipped over onto her back, kicking out with her free leg. She connected with its head, her boot clanging against the metal skull. She swore the thing _growled._ Its hand tightened around her leg. Its fingertips had been damaged and were now pointed, sharp enough to tear the fabric. It squeezed, something akin to glee on its face as the skin broke and blood welled up around the wound, coating the silver fingers in red. She cried out in pain, struggling in the thing’s grasp.

            “Resisting is futile,” the robot hissed, its voice much more mechanical sounding than Ultron’s voice, like it was speaking with gears and wires. “Ultron said that none were to survive.”

            Natasha gritted her teeth. “Go to hell.”

            She pushed herself upright, using her momentum to swing her free leg around the thing’s neck, breaking free as she swung around. These robots were intelligent though, and just as soon as she broke away, it was reaching up to grab her shoulder, throwing her off. She rolled as she landed, coming up to face it. The robot towered over her, its red eyes gleaming. She backed up a few steps, using her peripheral as much as possible to try and find anything she could use against this thing. It swung out at her and she dodged, ducking under its reach, getting low enough to swing a leg out and knock it off its feet. She used the few seconds she had to run away from the building.

            Natasha had never been one to run away from a fight. At least, that was until Ultron had decided to turn on them, raising minions that were just as hard to defeat as he was. For her to win she needed firepower. She could use her Widow’s Bite, but that required her to get close as well as the element of surprise. Fear threatened to climb its way up her throat, to consume her, but she swallowed it down. She had to kill this thing before it found Thor. Before it found Steve.

            As she ran she managed to find a .45. Natasha picked up the pistol, trying not to look at the dead policeman beside it. She didn’t dare look behind her as she skirted around a large pile of rubble, crouching down behind a tipped over SUV. She listened. She could hear it coming, and she held her breath, waiting for exactly the right moment. Just as the thing’s head appeared, she aimed and fired without a second thought, taking out one of its eyes. It reeled back, roaring. She took its moment of surprise and shot out its other eye.

Though it was now blind, it swung out, connecting with her face, knocking her to the ground. Natasha could taste blood in her mouth, the metallic scent overwhelming. She barely had time to recover before it was stumbling towards her blindly, enraged. She rolled out of the way and got to her feet behind it. Before it could fully turn around, she leaped up onto its shoulders, pinning its arms down as much as she could with her legs as she brought her bracelets down against the hardware at the nape of its neck. It hissed, scrambling at her as it shorted out, knocking her off it once again. Natasha fell on her back, watching as the machine crumpled lifelessly beside her.

She lay there beside the empty husk for a moment, trying to catch her breath. The taste of blood in her mouth seemed permanent. She sat up, inspecting her leg. She had three long score marks along her shin and calf. They weren’t incredibly deep, but deep enough to soak the fabric around the wounds. She took a deep breath before pushing herself up out of the dirt. She couldn’t help wincing as she walked. Moments before the adrenaline had made her forget the pain, but now it was very real, dizzying her.

Natasha came back around the pile of rubble, a hand against a large chunk of wall to support herself as she walked. Instead of touching stone, though, she felt the smoothness of something else entirely under fingertips. She looked up, noticing the red cape for the first time.

“Thor,” she whispered. “Oh my god, Thor!”

She shook the god’s arm, trying not to focus on the blood streaked across his face and the front of his armor. He had a large gash across his forehead, his cape ripped and blackened beneath him. He was covered in dirt and soot, stark against his pale skin.

“Thor!” she said louder.

She thanked whatever Asgardian god that was watching over him when he stirred, rolling over with a cough. Natasha helped him to his feet, though she didn’t know how. She was barely managing to stand herself.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

The Asgardian looked down at her. “I’m fine,” he replied, looking troubled when he saw the state she was in. “But you’re not.”

She waved him off. “I’ve had worse than this.”

She wasn’t actually sure about that. She’d been through a lot of shit the past few days and she couldn’t recall the last time she’d been this worn out, this injured, this hopeless.

“Do you know what happened to Steve?” she asked.

“I’m not certain,” the god said, a troubling look settling over his features. “Captain Rogers was…the last I saw he was fighting Ultron himself.”

Natasha’s heart plummeted. She choked on the air that she was so desperately trying to breathe into her lungs. It took everything in her to remain upright.

Natasha barely noticed when Thor laid a hand on her shoulder. “Lady Romanoff?”

She blinked a few times, shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, thoughts of Steve’s broken, mutilated body among the rubble.

“Go,” she said hollowly. “Find the others.”

Thor shifted on his feet, looking absolutely and utterly drained. Natasha supposed even gods got tired. “It would not be wise to stay here on your own.”

She smiled wryly. “I can take care of myself. Trust me. I need to find Steve. Go get the others and then you can come back for me.”

It took Thor a good minute before he nodded in agreement. He held out a hand, and seconds later, Mjolnir landed in his palm.

“Be careful,” Thor said earnestly.

Natasha nodded, watching as Thor lifted his hammer, spinning it around like a helicopter blade until it lifted him off the ground and away from that particular site of carnage. As she took steps to move around the rubble she kept seeing an image of Steve, battling Ultron, fighting a losing battle. They hadn’t figured out how to stop Ultron and she couldn’t help but think that Steve was a fool for going up against him. But it was also a very Steve thing to do, and she couldn’t blame him. She only hoped his bravery hadn’t gotten him killed, because she didn’t know how she would possibly be able to stand then.

Natasha took another step forward and heard the clang of metal against her boot. When she looked down to see what it was all strength left her body and she crumpled, falling to her knees. A hand flung up to cover her mouth, in an attempt to keep down the strangled cry she felt struggling to break free. She didn’t quite manage to do so and a muffled, choking gasp slipped through her fingers. Every ounce of pain and fear she’d felt the past few days welled up inside her, threatening to explode and destroy her in the blast.

She reached out with a shaking hand to touch the splintered red, white, and blue disc. Steve’s shield. Natasha couldn’t help but think that was so much worse than finding his body. And seeing his shield, shattered though it was supposed to be indestructible, much like him, she knew it was possible that she might still find his body. She picked up the fragment gingerly, like if she gripped too tight it might crumble into dust.

“Steve,” she breathed, running her thumbs along the surface.

Natasha felt her heart clench painfully in her chest. After the Battle of New York, after all that she and Steve had been through with SHIELD and Hydra rising out of the ashes, it was so hard to believe that anything could beat him. She didn’t know for sure that he _had_ been defeated, but the chances were pretty slim it seemed. She hadn’t found him during her initial search, and anything that could destroy the vibranium disc she held could surely break bones and reduce a man to nothing. The thought crippled her.

But she had to keep going. If he was alive, she was _going to find him._ She owed him, and she owed it to herself to not give up on him. He had never given up on her. It was time to return the favor. She forced herself to take a few deep breaths, albeit shaky ones. Natasha picked herself up, ignoring the pain in her leg and the raging headache she had pounding against her skull.

She clenched the broken shield in her hands, the jagged edges digging into her right palm. She let all those emotions, all her defiance and all her anger and hate for Ultron, all her pain and all her hopelessness, she let them bubble to the surface and she screamed. She screamed for him, crying his name until her lungs burned. She screamed his name with the taste of blood in her mouth.


	2. Finding Steve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She reached out with a shaking hand to touch the splintered red, white, and blue disc. Steve's shield. Natasha couldn't help but think that was so much worse than finding his body."

“Steve! _Steve!_ ” Natasha called again, her voice becoming hoarse.

            She’d been looking for close to an hour now, carefully picking her way through the piles for any sign of him. She was still holding the broken half of his shield under her arm, the .45 held ready in the other hand, finger ready next to the trigger. Thor hadn’t shown up with the others and that didn’t bode very well. They might be pinned down, and if— _when_ , she corrected herself—she found Steve he would probably need medical attention. Hell, _she_ needed medical attention. Her limp was becoming worse, her leg stiffening up every once in a while. She was exhausted, her head still pounding from the explosion and her fight with the robot. The thought of giving up, though, made her sick to her stomach.

            She found herself closer to the building and she leaned against one of the still, mostly-intact support pillars. Some of the smoke had cleared from the sky and the sun beat down once again. If Natasha ignored the carnage and destruction scattered around her, the day was rather beautiful. It was warm, a soft breeze traveling through the air. The smell of smoke was fading and when she looked out at the distant city, it seemed like there were less fires. It seemed wrong, that when Steve was out there, probably severely injured, possibly dead, for it to be so nice out.

            Natasha sank down against the pillar, her breath heaving in and out of her lungs. She gripped the gun and shield equally as hard in her hands. She wished Clint was here with her. He’d gone off with Tony to fight, but she wished he had stayed with her. It was situations like these when he always knew exactly what to say. He knew her and he always seemed to know exactly what she needed. He was good at being the supportive presence by her side.

 Natasha leaned her head back. She was just about to close her eyes for a moment when something glinted out of the corner of her eye. She whipped her head around, focusing on the spot. About a hundred feet away, in between a piece of fallen wall and a tipped over bus, she spotted something that was clearly metal. She stood up, hoping to get a better vantage of the object. The second she caught a glimpse of red, white, and blue she was running, running as fast as her injured leg could carry her. She barely felt the pain in her leg, though. Her heart swelled with hope as she neared the wreckage.

The chunk of wall was crushing a good portion of the bus, which itself had been cleaved in half. Natasha holstered the gun in her belt and tucked the shield as best she could under her arm. She climbed over a fallen metal beam and into the bus, right by the shattered window where she’d seen the metallic glint come from. She crawled among the broken shards of glass and half-twisted seats until she found the source. There, half pinned under the chunk of wall, right outside the bus, was Steve, the other half of his shield still attached to his, now broken, arm.

“Steve!” she cried, squeezing through the broken window to get to him.

Natasha let her half of his shield clatter to the ground as she knelt beside him. From a distance, aside from his broken arm and being pinned under a wall, he hadn’t looked too bad. Now that she was closer, though, her heart dropped. His eyes were closed and she couldn’t see if his chest was going up or down, so whether he was actually dead or simply unconscious, she didn’t know. Half his face was covered in blood from a large gash on his left temple and other, smaller cuts across his cheeks His hair was matted with drying blood. His nose was broken, too, red covering his upper lip and running down one side of his face and along his jaw. Taking a closer look at his broken arm, it appeared to be broken in at least two places, the limb crooked and bent in a way that it should not be. His uniform was ripped in several places, bloody gashes showing through. There was a moderately sized piece of metal sticking out of his side, the wound bleeding profusely, though she was glad to see that it didn’t look like it had hit anything vital.

And these were only the injuries she could _see._ He no doubt had a few broken ribs and bruises covering every other inch of his body. Bracing herself, Natasha touched her fingers gently to his neck, leaning over his mouth. She started counting in her head and it took a few seconds, but then his pulse jumped under her fingertips and a shallow breath brushed against her ear. She sat back on her haunches, breathing a sigh of relief. Even if they were slow, he was still breathing and his heart was still beating. Though, looking at his state, she didn’t know for how much longer until he got some help.

Knowing she wasn’t going to be able to do much until he was free, she reluctantly left his side to examine the wall that was pinning his legs. It was at least a foot thick, all stone, though luckily not as big as she originally had thought it to be. It was still too big for her to move with raw strength, especially in her weakened state. She crouched down, looking to see if she could pull him loose instead. Noticing the wall was tilted, she tugged gently on his right leg, finding that it was rather loose. She pulled and his leg popped free, grateful that it didn’t appear to be broken.

His other leg was the problem. It was definitely pinned down, and if she tried to pull it free, she would surely hurt him. She could use Bruce right about now, in his Hulked out form. She looked briefly to the sky, hoping to see their quinjet lowering itself to the ground, but there was nothing. She could wait for the others to show up, but if the enemy arrived first, she needed to be able to get Steve out quickly. She had to get him free, the only question was _how_?

Natasha looked around, trying to get her tired brain to come up with a plan. She obviously needed something to get leverage, to get the wall off his leg. She got up and walked around the immediate area, not wanting to get too far away from Steve. She considered the metal beam she’d climbed over earlier, but that was too big, and she’d never be able to get it over to Steve in the first place. Natasha found herself inside the damaged bus again, picking carefully around the broken glass. As she looked, she realized the bars that ran along the roof of the bus could work. They were shorter than they were originally, due to the bus being cut in half, but it would have to do. She lay down on her back and struck out at the base of the bar with both legs, gritting her teeth as pain flared up in her leg. A few more kicks and a bit of swearing later, it gave way.

Moving quickly now, Natasha grabbed the bar and made her way back to Steve. Unsurprisingly, he hadn’t moved. Stepping over onto his left side, wedging the broken tip of the bar under the stone wall, right by his leg. Once she was sure the bar had a good grip against the stone, she pushed down with every ounce of strength she had left. The wall lifted an inch and then two off his leg. She pushed, but it didn’t budge much farther. Huffing out a breath, sweat beading on her forehead, Natasha adjusted her position so she could keep her weight on the bar while she nudged his leg with her foot. She prodded him, managing to get his leg out of the way after a few tries. She lowered the wall slowly, satisfied when she saw that his leg was out.

She dropped the bar and walked around so she was behind Steve’s head. He still hadn’t moved. She checked again for his pulse and breathing, which hadn’t improved, but it also hadn’t gotten worse. As carefully as she could, Natasha hooked her arms underneath his shoulders and slowly dragged him a few feet away, just in case the wall decided to topple over. She went back inside the bus to see if she could scrounge anything up. She managed to find a half-full water bottle and a woman’s scarf. Making her way back by the building, she picked up a broken pipe and part of a wooden beam.

When she got back to Steve, she set to work making the splint for his arm as quickly as possible. It certainly wasn’t pretty or professional looking by any means, but it would do until she could get him to a hospital. That is if they got out of there alive. Their chances were looking pretty slim at the moment. Natasha settled on the ground by Steve, straightening her injured leg out carefully. She propped him up, cradling his head in her lap, running a hand through his bloodied blonde hair.

“Come on, Steve,” she whispered, hearing her voice crack. “Wake up. Don’t you _dare_ die on me. You hear me? Don’t you dare give up. Not now. Not now.”

She did her best with what was left of the scarf she had found to wipe up some of the blood on his face. She examined the shard of metal sticking out of his left side. Blood still wept slowly around the wound, drops splashing down into the dust that covered the road next to them. She didn’t dare take out the metal bit, though, in case it was worse than it looked and it started bleeding more profusely. There were smaller bits of metal clinging to his uniform, some embedded in exposed patches of skin like splinters, and she started plucking those out. Natasha was just about to lean over and check his pulse again when his eyes fluttered open.  

“ _Steve,_ ” she breathed, relief clear in her voice. She looked down at him, stroking the sides of his face as his eyes—which were as blue and clear as ever despite his injuries—focused on her.

It took him a moment, but he finally seemed to recognize her, to remember where he was and what he was doing here. “‘Tasha?” he mumbled.

She nodded her head quickly, her eyes brimming with tears. She had managed to keep herself together this far, but seeing him, awake, alive and safe for now, all her exhaustion and fear came rushing forward again and she couldn’t hold it back this time. The dam she’d built up fractured, lines like veins cutting across the stone, and finally collapsing. Tears slipped down her cheeks and splashed onto the collar of his uniform.

Sluggishly, like his limbs were filled with lead, Steve started to lift his uninjured hand towards her cheek. His brow creased in pain the higher he lifted his arm, but he pushed through until he was brushing the tears from her cheek. Despite everything, Natasha found herself smiling at him.

“I thought you were dead,” she admitted softly, running a hand absentmindedly through his hair.

“Can’t get rid of me that easily,” he whispered back, giving her a small smile.

Natasha reached off to the side and grabbed one of the broken halves of his shield. She held it up for him to see. His eyes grew dark and a little sad. He didn’t say anything, just stared at the shattered object. The shield had been with him since 1945, slept with him for almost 70 years until he was ready to bear it again. To see it fractured as if it were a tin-foil prop must have been devastating to him.

“I found this, and I—” she cut off, choking on her emotions. She ran her fingers over the smooth, fire-scorched surface, before setting it down nearly soundlessly beside her.

“I’m sorry,” Steve said.

“You better be,” she scolded. “What the hell were you _thinking_? Taking _Ultron_ on by yourself?”

He attempted to shrug but it was awkward with him half in her lap. “Someone had to.”

Natasha nearly groaned in exasperation. “When you’re all healed up I am _so_ going to kick your ass for saying that.”

Steve gave a weak chuckle that quickly broke off. His left hand went up to clutch his chest, confirming her suspicion that he had broken ribs. His breathing sounded more labored, sweat dotting his forehead, and she desperately hoped he didn’t have a punctured lung. She looked to the sky, praying for the quinjet to appear. If Steve didn’t get help soon…well, she didn’t even want to think about it.

She looked back down at Steve, reaching out and grabbing his uninjured hand. “Try not to move, okay?”

“Where are the others?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied, trying not to show him how worried she was.

Steve didn’t say anything. He continued to hold her hand, looking around him until eventually his eyes settled back on his broken shield. Then he noticed for the first time her injured leg carefully splayed out next to her.

His brow creased with concern. “You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine, Steve,” she brushed him off.

“ _Natasha,_ ” he groaned.

“I’ve had worse, trust me,” she assured him, squeezing his hand gently. “I’ll be fine.”

“I might not be.”

“Hey,” she warned. “Don’t say that. Don’t you say that. You’re going to be _fine,_ Steve.”

“It’s bad, Nat. You know it is,” he whispered. She didn’t want to answer him, because she could see how pale he was, how much blood surrounded the ground around him. There was a sheen of sweat covering his face and neck, and she was sure that if she touched her fingers to his neck, she wouldn’t find his pulse much stronger than before. It might even be weaker.

“I’m going to get you out of this,” she argued, refusing to believe anything different. “I…I _can’t_ lose you. So, I’m not going to give up. And don’t you dare give up either. Understand?”

Steve met her eyes, and after a moment he finally nodded.

“Good,” she said. “Now shut up and stop moving.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned.

Natasha laughed. It was short-lived, but for that brief second, she was okay. They were both okay. And she believed that, too, because just then, the quinjet started to descend out of the sky, Steve holding her hand the whole time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the epilogue left!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cute, fluffy epilogue. No excuses.
> 
> Enjoy!

As Steve approached the gym he could hear muffled voices. When he got to the doorway he stopped and leaned against the doorjamb, watching as Natasha sparred with Clint.

            “This is payback, isn’t it?” Clint was saying breathlessly as he dodged a punch from Natasha. “I _told_ you, I was on a mission when you were taking down Hydra or SHIELD or whatever it is now.”

            Natasha didn’t say anything, but shrugged and then attacked again. Clint dodged, but then she feigned him out and came up behind him, kicking his feet out and pushing his shoulders down, causing him to land hard on his back. She pulled one of their blunt practice knives out of the waistband of her leggings and put it to Clint’s throat. He groaned and tapped his hand against the mat. Natasha laughed and helped him to his feet.

            Steve walked over to the ring and looked at Clint. “Mind if I take a turn?”

            “She’s all yours,” Clint muttered, ducking under the ropes. “Have fun, Cap.”

            “Hey,” Natasha greeted him breathlessly, taking a sip from her water bottle as he came into the ring. “What’s up?”

            “Well, I was promised an ass-kicking for taking Ultron on all by myself,” Steve explained, watching as her face broke out into a smile. “As you can see, I’m all healed up.”

            “Just gonna offer yourself up to me?” she asked, smirking.

            Her face was flushed and she had a sheen of sweat covering her face and chest, but Steve didn’t doubt she could go a few more rounds.

            Steve shrugged. “I’m pretty confident.”

            “Oh, really? Think you can beat me?” she teased, taking a step towards him.

            “Maybe,” he grinned.

            Natasha just shook her head and chuckled. Steve barely had time to react before she was lunging out at him. She continued to strike out at him, taking a step with each blow, causing Steve to have to maneuver backwards around the ring in order to dodge her hits. He was managing to block all of them, but she was fast. With her speed and ruthlessness against his strength and size, they were evenly matched. After working together for over two years, they knew each other’s fighting styles and within minutes of dodging and exchanging blows, they were both sweating a fair amount.

            When Natasha struck out at him, he grabbed her arm and tried to flip her, but she used the momentum to land on her feet and twist out of his grasp, kicking out at his feet. He dropped to one knee, and when she went to pin him down, he grabbed her again and succeeded in flipping onto her back. She stayed down for all of a second before she had bounded back onto her feet. Steve dodged her next blows, managing to strike back at her just as much.

            It went on like that for a while—the trading of blows, every once in a while one of them almost getting the upper hand. For a moment, Steve thought he had won. He had knocked Natasha on her back and was about to pin her down when she brought a knee up, kicking him down. She flipped rolling him over so _he_ was the one of his back, her hands pinning his wrists to the mat, legs holding his down. Natasha looked down at him, chest heaving up and down, big smile on her face.

            “I win,” she whispered.

            “Satisfied?” he teased.

            She grinned. “For now. Ultron may be defeated but I’m sure I’ll find something to kick your ass for later.”

            “Looking forward to it,”

            Her grin only go bigger after that comment.

            “Can I ask you something?” he asked.

            “You just did.”

            Steve chuckled, only half-noticing that she still had him pinned down against the mat. “Will you go out to dinner with me?”

            Steve hadn’t seen Natasha ever really get surprised, but she looked surprised now. Not in a bad way, though. Her gray-green eyes twinkled and the smiled stayed on her face.

            “Sure,” she agreed. “Pick me up at six on Friday.”

            She was about to get up when Steve pushed and rolled her over so he was hovering over her. He didn’t bother pinning her wrists, but instead placed his hands on either side of her head. He leaned down close to her ear, feeling her breath against neck, one of her hands—perhaps involuntarily—splaying against his chest. She didn’t push him away, though.

            “Wear something nice,” he murmured, lips brushing against the shell of her ear.

            He got to his feet quickly then, grabbing her hand and pulling her up beside him.

            “See you Friday, Nat,” he smiled.

Steve swore as he turned around to head for the door he saw her blush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> This is followed by a second chapter and an epilogue. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
